Warrant Issued For Verizon's Arrest

By Ben PopkenFebruary 9, 2007

Just before Poodleman filed a motion to seize Verizon’s property, he received a check from the company.

The refund is the long-awaited conclusion to the saga that began when Verizon double-billed Poodleman, ruined his credit, lied about not receiving his letters, and refused to fix their mistake. So he sued Verizon in small claims court, and won.

When Verizon didn’t show for the follow up payment review, the court issued a capias, or bench warrant, authorizing Verizon’s arrest.

Perhaps it was better for everyone involved that Verizon paid Poodleman, as it might have been a bit difficult for the sheriff to arrest an entire company.

Full scan of warrant for Verizon’s arrest, inside…

Poodleman writes:

“Verizon failed to pay me by the court-appointed deadline. As I had a payment review scheduled, I attended this and was surprised that Verizon did not feel it necessary to attend, especially considering that the court paperwork clearly indicated that they would be subject to arrest for failure to appear. Apparently, being considered to be in contempt of court was not initially of concern to them. Afterwards, just prior to (lucky them) submitting a motion to seize property of the judgment debtor (Verizon Wireless), that’s when I got the check. To hell with them! It’s lovely that the court issued a “Writ of Capius” authorizing the arrest of Verizon. I am glad that I was eventually paid, as I would otherwise have had an issue having a sheriff arrest a corporation. I’m not sure how that would have gone. Perhaps I would have had to have filed a motion to amend the judgment to include an individual’s name (perhaps their CEO or some other hotshot?).”

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Kudos for going after the bastards. Why don’t more of us actually take these companies to small claims court, rather than just threatening to sic the BBB and FTC on them? It’s so rare that I ever hear about anyone taking companies to court. Yeah, many of us don’t have time, but imagine how it would shake up the industry if 1% of people with problems filed suit. (Remember, small claims court does not require the services of an attorney)

Adamatic550, since it’s small claims court it’s a matter of equity, not law. The judge gets to decide on a fair resolution instead of interpreting legal issues. In some states there may be an appeals path to the lowest court at law but that’s when the cost:vindication ratio gets out of whack.

There’s a misconception that filing and carrying through small claims is some expensive, time-consuming process; it usually isn’t. You pay your money, get the papers served and then show up on the appointed date at the appointed time and the matter is usually settled in less than an hour.

Companies like Verizon thrive on people not knowing how user-friendly this part of the legal system usually is. You can bet they’d treat their customers with a lot more respect if that weren’t the case.

I had the same experience with Verizon. I wish I had sued. I found out that they had destroyed my credit without ever telling me when I was buting a house. I now pay at least an extra $100 a month on interest because of their practices.

Many years ago when I was living on Saipan I asked Northwest Airlines for a refund of the return portion of a full-fare ticket from Little Rock to Saipan. It was about $500. The local agent said they would give me about $300 and the Guam office said about $350 – take it or leave it. I wrote them and said no, I want the full amount or I will sue in court.

They laughed it off, I did and won when they didn’t show. I personally served the local office of the airline with the judgement. I was asked,”what do we do with this?” I suggested they fax it right away to their office in Wisconsin for payment. Again, they thought it was funny and the station agent tore it up in front of me, saying there was no way I was going to collect.

I went back to the court and they issued a court order that I could seize company property to sell to pay the debt. I took this order back to them and said if I did not have a cashiers check by close of business the next day a federal marshal was going to seize the next 747 coming in from Narita and impound it for sale.

My check was delivered later that day by special messenger.

Small claims courts work. It may take some time, but when the principle of the thing is important to you, it only costs a few bucks.Many times if it is a large company they are so arrogant they just don’t show up and they lose by default.

This story and Dhughe’s account remind me of the man who sued the Royal Bank of Scotland, won a judgment which RBS failed to pay, then got permission to seize company assets to recover the debt. He actually showed up at a bank branch with bailiffs and began hauling away their computers…

I haven’t followed the story, but can’t he fix his credit report under the FCRA, as long as the poor credit was erroneous?

Independent of his small claims case, any errors on your credit report can be challenged. The credit agencies then have 30 days to respond. If they say its correct, then it stays, otherwise it goes. As I understand it, if they don’t respond in the 30 days, then you can have the entire record with that company removed.

The scary part of this story is that this has only reiterated the idea that a corporation is treated as a person. Should a corporation be given this status and what happens when they take the same rights and freedoms that other American citizens have?

That’s awesome. I wonder if I can get a warrant to seize IRS assets on the grounds that the constitutional protections that we pay for in taxes are now nothing but a sham and therefore they are no longer entitled to my tax money.